A new industrial mineral: Huntite and its recovery

Huntite is a new industrial mineral. The industrial utilization of huntite is not well known. Huntite formations include different types of minerals such as hydromagnesite, magnesite, clay minerals, aragonite and dolomite. Separation properties of these ores have not exactly been determined yet. In this study, characterization of huntite ores was made and separation conditions for huntite from the associated mineral, magnesite were investigated. The effect of modifying reagents like sodium silicate and carboxymethyl cellulose on surface properties of huntite were also examined. Electrokinetic measurements showed that the surface charge of huntite becomes positive in the presence of MgCl ₂ and CaCl₂. On the other hand, carboxymethyl cellulose was found to be a strong depressing agent for huntite in the alkaline region. The result of flotation tests performed with run of mine ore sample, huntite concentrates were produced with 97-98% huntite contents and 76-86% recoveries.